FIU geophysicist Dr. Dean Whitman breaks down the rare earthquake doublet that struck Venezuela — a magnitude 7.2 earthquake followed by a larger 7.5 just about 40 seconds later — and explains how nearby earthquakes can trigger one another, while quakes on opposite sides of the globe almost never do. Dr. Whitman also covers: The difference between foreshocks and aftershocks, and why doublets are especially destructive to buildings already weakened by the first shock Why earthquakes aren't actually becoming more frequent — just more visible due to global connectivity The likely impact on Venezuela's infrastructure and government amid ongoing political instability How FIU researchers use space geodesy — satellite radar imaging of the Earth's crust — to track stress buildup along faults and improve our understanding of earthquake risk Learn more about FIU's geophysics and earth sciences research at fiu.edu. #FIUNews #Geophysics #EarthquakeScience 0:00 Can Earthquakes in Different Regio...